A SPECTACULAR ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY
wahan mos deng —
discovery of an Anglo-Saxon ship dating from around 600 AD was an astonishing find of royal treasures. The 88.5-foot long ship was an archaeologist’s dream, packed with treasures, including gold jewellery, Byzantine silverware, a magnificent casket and an iron helmet. It may have been the burial place for an Anglo-Saxon king. What to look for: Made of iron and covered with copper panels that show a range of scenes, the Sutton Hoo helmet is one of only four surviving helmets from the period. It has a distinctive shape and a menacing face-mask with copper eyebrows that are inlaid with silver wire and garnets, ending in a silver boar’s head. wherein 36 royal families will play host to a party of guests, regale them with stories and share anecdotes of culinary traditions practised in the past.” The event will be held in October at the embassy of Belgium and will feature six luxury tents, created by art designers to represent the heritage of the individual princely states. Each tent will seat 35-40 people at a given point of time and two meals — lunch and dinner — will be served daily by various royal families. The participating royals are now busy, preparing a narrative for the culinary tours and helping with the special merchandise —spices, pickles and preserves — that will be available June onwards. Tikaraj Aishwarya Chandra Katoch, the 489th descendant of the royal Katoch clan of Kangra, has been working hard to revive the dying arts and cultures of the region through the Royal Kangra Museum, which has the largest collection of Kangra miniatures in the world. “The Dalai Lama stays in Dharamshala, located in the Kangra valley. Celebrities from all over the world visit the place, but go away without savouring the flavours of the region,” says Katoch. He is trying to create awareness about the region’s temple food through the initiative. In the process, he too has come across surprising facts about the rich culinary traditions of Kangra. “During a village feast, the pundits would start preparing food at the crack of dawn and by the afternoon, 5,000 guests would have been fed,” he says. Each vegetable served at the feast would be accompanied by a specific lentil that would complement its taste. “The chefs, or botis, were very clear that the order of the vegetables and lentils wouldn’t be changed,” he says.
Dine With Royalty will be a ticketed and pre-booked event. “We have not restricted this to Indian royal families, but have also extended it to Spanish and Nepalese royalty,” says Saxena who intends to take this initiative to Belgium in 2018.